Hunger strike teen terrorist given family contact visit during lockdown
A juvenile offender convicted of terror-related crimes was allowed a contact visit with his family in a bid to break a hunger strike that he began to support the Black Lives Matter rally during the statewide lockdown, sparking outrage among Youth Justice staff.
NSW
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A convicted teenage terrorist on a two week hunger strike has been allowed a contact visit with his parents in which they “hugged and kissed” despite a statewide lockdown of youth detention centres.
The visit at Cobham Youth Justice Centre was allowed in the hope it would see the 19-year-old detainee end a hunger strike he had begun to support Black Lives Matter protests.
He was refusing food on and off, he told NSW Youth Justice staff, to also protest against the treatment of convicted terrorists in prison and juvenile justice, and the “corrupt legal system” in Australia.
Youth Justice executives organised the family contact visit when the young man had lost 9kg of body weight and had been admitted to hospital five times, including recently at Nepean Hospital.
However after the contact visit, which involved the terrorist being able to “hug and kiss” his family, he resumed his hunger strike and last week was back in hospital, a Youth Justice officer told The Sunday Telegraph.
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His return to hospital triggered an urgent meeting of Youth Justice executives on Monday.
It is understood the talks included discussions on transferring the detainee to the hospital arm of the adult prison system.
The visit has also angered some Youth Justice staff who say it will lead to other detainees going on hunger strikes to see their own families.
One Youth Justice officer said the failed contact visit had put the health of staff at risk while also provoking other detainees who have been unable to meet with family as part of the ongoing COVID-19 lockdown.
“Staff are livid that their health was placed under threat and several detainees that saw him having a contact visit with family threatened to do the same as him to get a visit,” a staff member said.
“No other kids have had contact visits in person for over three months.”
The incident comes almost a year after the violent Kariong riots, where detainees at the now notorious Frank Baxter Youth Justice Centre armed themselves with table arms and gardening equipment before attacking fellow inmates, including sexual offenders.
Police charged 21 detainees in the wake of the 21-hour rampage, with a subsequent inquiry leading to the State government to introduce high-risk management units to separate the most troublesome detainees from the rest of the population.
Families, Communities and Disability Services Minister Gareth Ward, who inherited the portfolio just three months before the riots, also demanded senior management to make use of a legal provision which allowed for unruly detainees that had turned 18 to be transferred to adult prison.
New state government figures reveal 16 detainees have been moved to adult prisons since the riots, with eight transferred as a result of their involvement, while there has been an almost 30 per cent in assaults across all six Youth Justice centres.
Mr Ward said the reforms, which included the creation of a High Risk Young Offender Review Panel to guide the management of high-risk detainees, was yielding results.
“What happened at Frank Baxter last July was totally unacceptable and we have worked hard to reform the system, strengthen our centres and put staff safety first,” he said.
“We will not tolerate detainees threatening the safety and security of our centres, or undermining the efforts of our hardworking staff to rehabilitate other detainees.
“We will continue to work closely with our front line staff to get this reform right and to create safer, more secure centres.”
Originally published as Hunger strike teen terrorist given family contact visit during lockdown